Recognition strikes
by Herrific
Summary: Neither Ember nor Skywise have Recognized: what if...? This is my first ever fic. Let me know what you think...
1. Unexpected

**Disclaimer**: The setting is AU; the elves are reunited in the original Holt (I think the splitting up was completely ridiculous anyway and it does wonders for my fic to keep them all together;-) ) .

I know it's a weird pairing, but I know I'm not the first one to think of it...

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Stumbling through the forest, Skywise wondered dizzily why everything had become such a mess. Well, not really a mess, more like a personal disaster. How could this have happened? And why had he been unable to stop it? It felt like such a failure and he was even more disappointed in himself when he realized that it was all he really wanted right now. He'd always known Recognition was waiting for him. It was inevitable, it happened to all elves eventually. But in his naivité he had believed that he had some choice in the matter and that he'd be able to hold it off like Leetah had, but then until he really felt like giving in to it. The speculations about him and Timmain had strengthened those beliefs; they'd Recognize once the time was ripe. 

But this... It was something he'd never even considered possible.

He paused when he arrived at a small clearing where a crystal-clear pond lay shining in the rays of sunlight of the early morning. The water looked a rich gold this way and the effect was only strengthened by silvery white flowers seemingly floating on large green leaves in the middle of it - water lilies, he believed Redlance called them. The elf stared in wonder; he'd never been here before.

It was as good a place as any to wallow in self-pity and maybe even think of something to do. He kicked off his boots and sat at the edge of the pond, with his feet in it. It was high summer and hot already, but the sun hadn't had time to warm this water. It was relaxing, especially to his buzzing mind. Maybe he could learn to live with it. The fact that he had recognized; not with her. That was simply impossible.

Ember had become a beautiful woman and all that – he probably would have tumbled in the furs with her if she hadn't been Cutter's daughter. Elves and especially Wolfriders didn't mind much to sleep with distant family members; they couldn't, there were too few of them. All Wolfriders were related in some way or another. But Skywise occasionally shared Cutter's furs, sometimes with Leetah too. Normally, if an elf Recognized when (s)he had a lover, they would form a three-mating if he or she didn't want to abandon that lover. That was quite impossible for them, of course. So what could he do? Sleep with Ember one night and with her parents the next? That sounded disgusting to him.  
The alternative wasn't fun either; he could just impregnate her and leave her again. That was somehow not how he'd imagined his Recognition; he enjoyed his freedom, sure, but he had thought that once he'd recognized, he would have a steadfast partner. Not necessarily a monogamous relationship – he shivered at the thought - , but a partner who would always be by his side, no matter what. Maybe he should be content with the one he already had: his Tam. And leave Syil – her soulname sang through his head – to her suitors. Ironically, he had been teasing her about Mender and Teir only minutes before it happened.

After what seemed like hours of sitting there with his feet cooling in the mysterious pond, idly spashing now and then and watching a squirrel come down to drink, Skywise made his decision. He hastily put on his boots, not even bothering to dry his feet, stuffed his pants into them unceremoniously and started off, back toward the Holt. His pace kept building; after a few minutes he was running. Faster and faster.

He didn't know where she was, but he _felt_ her. He was _drawn_ to her. He would be until she was with child. She was not in the Holt itself; she had probably run off the moment after it happened too. After the initial shock – they'd been setting traps, joking and teasing, and suddenly WHAM – they'd looked into each other's eyes and the realization had hit them both that they'd just Recognized. An immensely powerful feeling of attraction and sheer horror had then overpowered him and her too, it seemed: they'd turned away from each other at the exact same moment. Skywise had started walking, not knowing what she did since his senses had dulled too much to hear Wolfriders move in the woods. Apparantly Ember had not gone to the others either. Good, they had to resolve this with each other before anyone else knew.

He found her at the edge of the river, hidden in the bushes surrounding a large stone: she sat watching the water with her back to it. It seemed fitting, somehow, that they both had sought the nearness of water. If he hadn't felt her presence, he would never have found her. She looked up when he came close; she had to have felt him the moment he felt her. "**Fahr?**" she sent uncertainly. At that moment she looked so vulnerable, so beautiful. "**Syil**," he answered without hesitation. She smiled angelically as he squatted next to her; as soon as he was at her level, she embraced him.

All coherent thought left the young elves as they gave in to the most powerful urge an elf could ever experience, a bonding that would result in a new life.


	2. Reactions

There was a strange atmosphere in the Holt; everybody was a bit uneasy, a strange mixture of excitement and nervousness. No one seemed to be able to sit still for long, and Tyleet said that her cub was kicking inside her belly. Even Krim, who had been told to calm down now that she was with cub, was preparing to hunt with the rest, claiming that she had to lose some energy.

Shaking his head, Cutter frowned. He felt nothing of the excitement some of his tribesmen said to be feeling - he just felt anxious. Leetah said it was because he'd slept so badly due to the heat, but he found it hard to believe. Something was about to happen, and he had a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't like it.

But now he had his responsibilities. The Chieftain stood up from where he sat on a thick branch overlooking the clearing, jumped down and overlooked the hunters. He always had to approve of the hunting party, mostly to prevent reckless youngsters from running off by themselves. Or, as it was now, to make sure not more than half of the tribe was going.

"**Scouter, Dewshine, you're staying here," **he sent.** "Not open for debate**," he added sternly when he felt their rebellious response brewing. Scowling, the couple subsided and went back.

"**Mender, Teir, this is supposed to be a **_**peaceful**_** hunt. Can you manage that?**" The two rivals exchanged a glance, looked back to Cutter and shrugged - oddly synchronized. "**I'll leave him alone if he doesn't bother me,**" replied the strange newcomer. "**Same here**," sent the blond-curled healer. With an exasperated look at the two idiots, Cutter decided to choose for them. "**Mender, you're staying here. No arguments.**" With a last dirty look at Teir, Mender strode back to the Father Tree. Oh, how they reminded Cutter of Rayek and himself.

"**Clearbrook, Redlance - I want you two to stay too.**" To his relief, they simply nodded and started walking back, sending to each other in calm conversation.

That left a hunting party consisting of Strongbow, Treestump, Nightfall, Krim - who, he was sure, would _not_ stay -, Pike, and Teir. Nodding his approval, Cutter sent, "**Hunt, my friends, and return safely.**" And with that, the hunters were off. Nightfall waved at him and Pike smiled over his shoulder; Cutter attempted a smile in response, and thought he succeeded.

As soon as they were out of sight, Cutter jumped back to his branch and sat down against the trunk, brooding. What was going to happen? And where were Ember and Skywise, anyway?

----------

Not long afterwards, Cutter was dozing in the tree when he felt a familiar tingling sensation in his mind. Normally, the approach of Skywise was electrifying - now it made his anxiety worse, which confused him to no end.

Trying to push away the feeling, he stood up and ran lightly across the branches of the trees surrounding their precious Holt, until he'd reached the central tree. Cutter skidded to a halt when he saw Ember and Skywise; they were walking, side by side, in a different way than they normally would have. He couldn't say what had changed - but it worried him.

Several elves looked up from what they were doing when the duo came close, and Leetah rose to meet them. Ember and Skywise stopped in front of her and spoke to her, strangely… serene. Suddenly, Leetah gasped. Some of the others hastily went to her, and soon the entire tribe was gathered around Ember and Skywise, whispering urgently to one another, asking questions and answering with wide eyes. Cutter was somehow unwilling to go to them.

Meanwhile, Ember and Skywise were as calm as ever. Skywise said something to the others, then started climbing the Father Tree. "**Tam?**" Cutter almost flinched when he felt it, and he had the ridiculous urge to hide from his Brother in All but Blood. He suppressed it, and sent, "**Here, Fahr.**" Skywise looked up in his direction and nodded when he spotted him. Soon, they were sitting side by side, snuggled against each other because there was so little room on the branch.

"**So, what's the matter? Why the fuss?**" Cutter asked, trying to sound casual. His Brother wasn't fooled; Skywise sighed and let his head fall back against the trunk, looking up at his beloved stars. Cutter couldn't see any through the leaves, but Skywise always seemed to see stars - even when there was very little sky visible.

"**This is awkward,**" Skywise sent eventually. Cutter frowned; he thought there was nothing even remotely awkward between them. Didn't they share everything?

"**Can't you guess?**" Skywise continued uncertainly. He looked Cutter in the eye and bit his lip. "**Ember and I… we…**" He cleared his throat and lowered his eyes. "**We… Recognized.**"

"**Oh…**" Cutter didn't know what to say, or what to think for that matter. This would definitely need time to sink in.

"**We've decided to be 'together' for a while. Until the cub is born, and perhaps a while after that,**" Skywise added hastily, as if he wanted to say it before he lost the courage.

Ah, yes. There would be a cub. Strangely, Cutter didn't mind that idea at all. He was sure Skywise would be a great father, and Ember had wanted a child for some time. They'd make a nice pair, with a child to match.

It also meant that Skywise would not be close to him for quite some time. He'd made it clear that he wanted to concentrate on his Recognition, and that meant of course that he would invest all his time and energy into it. Cutter smiled wryly; perhaps it would be a relief for Skywise, to be rid of his bothersome 'shadow' for a while.

Skywise was looking at him almost disbelievingly. "**You're not… dunno… hurt?**"

Suddenly overcome, Cutter pulled Skywise close to him and crushed him in a fierce hug. "**Yes, I am,**" he sent sincerely, "**I will miss you so badly, Fahr. I realize that I won't be able to rely on you - and your support means everything to me.**" He pulled back a little to look Skywise in the eye, to show him how much he meant it. Which was ridiculous, of course, since sending was about the purest form of communication possible. Still, eye contact was strangely intimate.

After a moment's hesitation, Cutter continued, "**You need this, Ember needs this… the cub needs this. I wouldn't want to stand in the way of your happiness.**" He smiled disarmingly. "**And we all know that you could use a little respite - I've been stalking you from the moment I could walk.**" To his relief, Skywise laughed at that.

Then, Skywise pulled Cutter close. "**I'm glad you take this so well, Tam.**"

The Chieftain snorted and buried his face in the Stargazer's soft white hair. "**Did you expect me to make a scene?**"

"**I feared you might.**"

No more needed to be said. They sat there, hidden from sight, just enjoying each other's closeness. After a while, Skywise became a bit restless; Cutter knew that he wanted to go to his Recognized. It did not feel _wrong_, as he had thought it would, but rather like something natural. Yes, they made a nice pair.

They released each other at exactly the same time - eliciting a smile - and got up. Effortlessly, they descended again and ended up close to Moonshade, who was tanning a doe's skin. She looked up and smiled a bit uncertainly - glad because a new cub was on its way, Cutter realized.

Skywise was already on his way to Ember, who sat on a root, talking with Suntop, Tyleet and Dewshine. The Stargazer sat down on the ground in front of her and leaned back against her. Ember hugged him and pulled him close, nuzzling his neck with a contented smile. A very nice pair, thought Cutter a bit sadly.

"What will happen with Teir and Mender?" Tyleet was asking, "Now that you've Recognized, their rivalry is still undecided."

"They can do whatever they want," said Ember indifferently, "I have more important things on my mind now. Maybe they can hook up and save me a lot of trouble in the future."

Dewshine laughed, a twittering sound that every single Wolfrider couldn't help but love. She fell silent, though, when she looked around and saw Cutter. Tyleet followed her gaze and her smile died away too. As the Wolfriders noticed him one by one, a hushed silence fell, as if they were unsure if they were supposed to find this a good thing. Even Suntop looked a bit uncertain, where previously he'd been watching his twin sister happily.

Cutter looked at his beloved daughter and smiled; she beamed back at him and pulled Skywise even closer to her. The Stargazer took her hand and smiled at Cutter with shining eyes - from happiness, sadness, or both, Cutter couldn't tell.

Cutter then sought his lifemate with his eyes. Leetah turned out to be sitting with a sulking Mender in an alcove nearby, comforting him. She looked up and smiled widely; she, too, approved of the pair.

The Chief let his gaze roam those assembled at the base of the Father Tree and grinned, nodding. They all brightened, as if he'd given them permission to be happy about this. And, in a way, he had.


	3. Results

"**Snowflight**!"

Muttering curses under her breath, Ember trotted along a path that was invisible to any but a hunter; it was overgrown, but a trained eye could see that there were no hidden obstacles. She wondered how her cub had managed to get this far, being only two winters old. The future chieftess stopped and listened intently, straining her ears for some hint as to where her daughter might be hiding. She was not disappointed; Snowflight did not seem to realize yet that giggling was something that could be heard by others than herself.

With the wolfish smile that she had inherited from her father, Ember walked around the tree to her right as silently as she could, picking her path carefully so that she could startle the inexperienced cub. As she neared the spot where she had heard the giggles, she saw that her daughter had not hidden very well and that her thick mop of snow-white hair was quite visible between the rich green leaves. Ember's wicked smirk broadened and when she was only two feet from her child, she grasped Snowdrop beneath the armpits and lifted her high into the air.

The girl didn't scream; Wolfriders always taught their children that it was wiser to be quiet at all times. Instead, she squirmed and kicked until she seemed to recognize the hands holding her. She went limp and Ember could now easily turn her around to look her in the eye. Even dangling there several feet off the ground, looking down into her mother's eyes, Snowdrop looked fierce. Those pale blue eyes, Cutter's eyes, Ember's eyes, looked at her as if she were ready to kill.

With a disarming smile, Ember lowered the toddler so she could hold her decently, tucking her underneath her chin. "**You have to admit you deserved that**," she sent. Snowflight relaxed into the embrace, but she didn't answer. "**We've told you before that you shouldn't just disappear like that. It's dangerous.**" It wasn't that much about the words, but more about the feeling she sent to Snowflight. Small children often didn't understand the words, and they themselves sent in feelings most of the time. That was why Ember now reprimanded the child with a slightly angry feeling, and a sense of warning, of hidden dangers. Not that she expected it to change anything; Snowflight was a wild one. "**Shall we go back to the Holt**?" – she sent a feeling of warmth, home, safety – "**To your father?**". Skywise already had a special bond with their cub, a bond like only a father and daughter could have. It reminded Ember of what she had once felt toward Cutter; a need to make him proud of her, to impress him, to deserve his love even if he gave it unconditionally. She knew that Snowflight would obey Skywise more easily than her; it was just the sad fate of a girl's mother, she thought with an ironic sigh.  
Snowflight didn't seem to feel like walking into the trap today, but just sat there sulking on Ember's arm. Now slightly exasperated, the future chieftess decided that the cub would come to the Holt with her if she wanted to or not and she took off without further hesitation. No more playing with Sust and Pool if she just disappeared, magical gifts be damned.

That was the greatest problem to Ember: the strange mix of gifts the child seemed to have. Snowflight had already shown signs of the ability to shape-change, like Timmain – Savah said it was the Blood of Ten Chiefs and Leetah's magicks mixed with Skywise's growing abilities – and it looked like it wasn't the only gift she had. It made Snowflight special, which greatly annoyed Ember, and scared her as well. She was annoyed because the other elves (though mostly those stupid Sunfolk, she thought harshly) treated Snowflight as if she were a treasure and scared because no one could tell her how powerful her daughter was. It all seemed so much larger than herself, since she enjoyed her simple life as a Wolfrider and lived mostly in the Now of the wolf.

The magical part of her child was no business of hers; Skywise sometimes took Snowflight to the Palace, to practise his own abilities and let her play with her own. One day, Skywise always said, he would fly the Palace and Snowflight would be there with him. He had expressed his hopes that their cub would be able to fly it as well, so he could journey to the stars with his daughter and share the experience with her. Savah and Timmain couldn't say much about the nature of Snowflight's potential, but they both agreed that it was great.

Skywise was proud of that; Ember was proud of the fact that Snowflight was so wild and wolfish despite her being a magic-user. Both loved and took care of the cub, however. After their child was born, Ember and Skywise had not become lifemates, but rather two good friends who knew each other's soul names. Skywise wouldn't want to be her lover as long as he was Cutter's and Ember didn't want him to. Maybe, one day, if Skywise hadn't gotten himself killed by the time Ember became Chieftess... But Cutter would have to be dead for that to happen, and that was something she definitely didn't want to think about. Instead, she looked down at her cub as she climbed a tree. "**So, how did you get that far without anyone noticing?**" she asked her. Snowflight looked up at her and smiled impishly. Ember halted abrubtly and nearly fell off the thick branch she'd been walking on. "**Did you...?**" The smile broadened, her eyes sparkled and the toddler sent a feeling of pride and joy to her mother. Ember looked away as she felt a sense of dread come over her; it seemed that Snowflight was getting good at her most dangerous gift so far, the ability that the tiny magic-user called 'jinking'.

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A/N: Decided that I didn't like the name Snowdrop much and changed it to Snowflight. 

Who is, by the way not my character: she's Jink, a powerful magic-user from the future. The actual character does not know who her parents are, nor what her real name is; she calls herself Jink, the name she gave to her own teleportation ability. I just tried to solve the mystery of her origins, but I guess it wasn't all too clear...


End file.
